


Safety

by DragonWhiskers



Series: The Things We Crave [16]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Confusing Emotions, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Some things that needed to be talked about, The Plot Thickens, doctor's orders, oh no we stepped into some plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 09:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6561169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonWhiskers/pseuds/DragonWhiskers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The plot thickens as Rey is injured while Kylo is off-ship....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safety

Kylo stormed in to the med bay looking for Rey.

He found her laying on her side, smiling so brightly at him it made his heart unclench and allowed him to breathe again.

“I’m fine – really, I am,” was the first thing out of her mouth as he stood frozen in the doorway. He just stared at her for a full minute, “Wh-what happened?” he finally asked, allowing himself to walk into the room to take her outstretched hand, letting her drawn him closer to her bed. He had felt her pain, felt her through the Force, through the bond they had been forging, even though he’d been off-ship and a full two systems away on a recon mission. He had felt her pain flair in his mind as if it had been his own, but he hadn’t known what had caused it.

One moment she had been there a constant, yet pleasant hum in his mind that he’d come recognize as her Force signature intertwined with a small part of her consciousness that had taken up residence in his head. The next there had been such a flash of pain, that it had nearly driven him to his knees, before he felt her black out. Kylo had sent a frantic call to the Finalizer as soon as he was able, trying to assess what had happened, but he had only received brief response that she was being treated in the med bay.

He looked over to his knight Cashen, his second in command, as the grizzled older man sat in the chair in the corner. Cashen had sent just as brief message, following Rey’s admittance to the med bay, explaining she had been hit by a stun blast during their training session and he would be keeping a close watch till Kylo could arrive. Kylo felt Rey squeeze his hand and he looked back down at his little scavenger.

“I’m trying to tell you! I’m fine. Cashen and I were training and I got a stunner to the side. I didn’t notice the stunner droids were active, but really, I’m ok,” she blushed with embarrassment and tried to downplay the incident. He could tell she was trying to make him feel better, wanted him to stop worrying himself about her. The embarrassment was partially due to her own annoyed feelings of not being able to take care of herself, she was very independent and this accident had wounded her pride. She was also dealing with the fact he’d practically dropped everything to rush back to her side. He could tell she didn’t know how to deal with that. She knew he had been scared, but she was also worried he’d be mad or disappointed with her for getting hurt.

“Rey –“ it came out a growl, he didn’t want her lying to him, even if it was to try and spare his feelings.

“No, really, I’m fine! Ask Cashen, he was there. He’s been kind enough to keep me company since,” Rey smiled up at Kylo, squeezing his hand again, before smiling over to the Second Knight of Ren. Kylo’s eyes followed her to look over at his oldest knight, understanding more the Rey did about just what it said that Cashen stayed with her. It meant the man believed she needed protection while she’d been unable to protect herself. The idea made Kylo’s blood run cold.

“He can tell you what happened after I was stunned. He was the one that rushed me to the med bay so fast,” she gave Cashen another warm smile, before turning her eyes back up to Kylo, trying to make the sick worry that had taken root in his mind dissipate.

Kylo wanted to get a word in private with his knight then, so he decided to bait his little scavenger, and get a little revenge for scaring him half to death, “Why did you feel the need to take a stunner shot to the ribs than, if it was nothing?” He forced himself to look like a disappointed teacher, scowling down at her, “Haven’t I taught you better than that?” he teased her, if she wanted to insist this had been an _accident_ he was going make her regret it.

The shocked and indignant look on her face was almost worth the twisting tension singing through him, almost. But he had learned over the years to trust the Force and it was telling him that this was not an accident.

“Kylo!” Rey half yelled, swatting his arm.

“Well of you’re feeling this feisty, you can watch the twins for a while. They’ve been worried sick about you,” he bent down to give her a quick kiss to take the sting out of his words. She was still red faced and thinking some very defiant thoughts, but she melted under his lips and smiled up at him as he leaned back. Kylo watched her smile over his shoulder at the twins as they walked into the room.

The two started bombarding Rey with questions, teasing her and thoroughly distracted her, as Kylo tilted his head, indicating he wanted to have a word with Cashen, outside of the room. As they walked down the hall listening to Rey’s light laughter at something Remus was saying, Kylo waited to speak after he was certain she was no longer paying attention to him.

“So, this wasn’t an accident, was it?” he turned to look down the hall, back into the room watching Remus pantomiming something that had Rey covering her mouth to stifle her giggles.

“No, it was intentional and it feels personal too,” the man’s voice was beyond gravely, partially damaged vocal cords from an old injury years before Kylo had been born. Cashen hadn’t bothered to have the damage repaired. He spoke so little as it was, it hadn’t really affected him. Kylo looked back at him, seeing the cunning intelligence that was etched in every line on the man’s leathery worn face. It was this intelligence that Kylo had come to respect and even rely on after he’d beaten the man for the title of First Knight and Master of the Knight of Ren. 

Cashen had lead the Knights of Ren when Kylo had first joined their ranks and it had been Cashen to help him hone his saber skills into a fighting style all his own, blending both his early Jedi training as well as the Sith styles that Cashen had studied, even though the Force was quite to him. Cashen had helped Kylo understand what it meant to be a real warrior and not just some student. This is one of the reasons Kylo had refused to kill him. He had not wished to lose such a wealth of skill and knowledge. Instead Kylo had forced the man to yield, something that no one had ever been able to accomplish. The older man had staggered to his knees, expecting execution, he had stared at Kylo’s outstretched hand instead, offering to help the man up. When Cashen took it, Kylo had declared him to be his Second. Cashen had been enraged, beaten to a bloody pulp, but he had never wavered in his loyalty to Kylo since that day.

“Any proof?” the tone was light as Kylo asked, but the rage was starting to build in him. 

“Been with her since she was hit, so I haven’t been able to track any leads, m’lord,”

Kylo knew the title was Cashen’s way to try and deflect some of that rage that was starting to swirl around him. You can’t have been a warrior as long as Cashen and not feel when violence was starting to swim in the air. He was right, this was not the time nor the place for it.

“I’m grateful you have stood vigil in my place, she-“

“I know what she means to you, boy. We all do,” the admission was said quietly, the sound something close to soft, which was a feat with that destroyed voice. The gruff man’s manor softened as well. There was some kind of warmth in his steel gray eyes, they matched his short stubble on his chin and the close cropped hair on his head. Cashen was all stocky build, blunt and hard, covered in scars and lines. The man had known a hard near sixty years of nothing but fighting and loyalty to the Supreme Leader, Kylo never dreamed the man knew anything outside of that.

Kylo wrecked his hand through his hair and gave Cashen a rueful smile, “Am I that transparent these days?”

The older man snorted, “No. But it’s clear she loves you and you would be a fool to not return the sentiment.”

Kylo felt a little exposed at those words, coming from this man, but he set his jaw and turned grim, looking down and then back down the hall at Rey’s room. Someone had intentional hurt her.

His little scavenger.

“Find out who did this and tell no one but me when you do,” He looked back to see Cashen nod, watching the man's eyes turn cold again. He wanted to find out who did this nearly as much as Kylo did. All of the knights had warmed to Rey, taken her under their wing. Cashen had been no exception. He’d been working with her on her own self-taught skills and helping her with her hand to hand combat. She had been flourishing under his tutelage.

A loud bark of laughter came to them and Kylo opened his mind enough to feel Rey’s extreme amusement mixed with some thick embarrassment. Kylo mused over whatever the twins were regaling her with must be bawdy indeed to get that mixed level of emotions out of her. He swore her could feel her blush from here.

“I should return to my Lady now,” Kylo clasp Cashen’s shoulder, “and thank you. Truly, she does mean that much to me,” he gave the older man a tight but warm smile before turning to head back to see just what Remus was saying to make her giggle like that and get her to blush _that_ hard.

 

***

  
Rey had been released later that day into Kylo’s care with strict orders to rest, to which the medic had stressed more to her then to Kylo, but the order was directed at both of them, and she should replace the bacta patch before she retired for the night. The medic had also wanted to see Rey back in the med bay in 24 standard hours for observation, she had made it part of the conditions that allowed Kylo to take Rey back to their courters. He’d found it funny when the medic had tried to pin him with her eyes, emphasizing rest was what Rey needed the most.

Kylo didn’t need to read her thoughts to understand what she was getting at. He’d promised to make sure Rey rested as much as she needed and after he’d been handed the medical report on just how sever the stun blast and the damage had been, he’d promised to himself and Rey he’d not be nearly as merciful to the person that did this. The stunner had hit her from behind, just above her last rib on her left side. The impact had cracked two of her ribs along with rendering her unconscious. Had Cashen not been walking into the training room then, she would have remained there for who knows how long.

“I thought Dr. Tamlin was sweet, the way she scolded you, but I’m surprised you let her,” Rey had interrupted his thoughts as they moved about his room to redress her patch. Kylo had insisted she sleep in his bed tonight. At first Rey had thought he had intended to be playful, but he’d made that very clear that she should be resting.

“The doctor is a competent physician, I see no reason not to listen to her directions,” He said, a bit growler then necessary but he wanted to point out that Rey wasn’t listening to those directions. Instead of resting she had wanted to practice her levitations, by levitating everything she wanted to her outstretched hands. Kylo had grit his teeth at the display, but he had to admit her skills were improving significantly. She handed him the bacta patch and rolled onto her stomach so he could replace the used one with ease. His breath hitched when he removed the old one to see the angry red welt that covered more space on her back then his hand, and he could nearly palm the span of her waist. Rey must have picked up on his mood going from shock to murderous, because she continued talking about nothing at all while he worked at smoothing the new patch in place, making sure the entire area was covered.

“Wait, what did you just say?” He asked when he missed whatever it was she was going on about while he as envisioning ripping whoever did this to pieces in his mind as his fingers smoothed out the last of the edges of the patch.

“I said, some of the tests she ran showed my hormone levels are in flux and she thinks I’ll be due for a cycle soon and since I haven’t had one in about four months, it’ll probably be a nasty one so I’ll be getting the chip tomorrow so I won’t have to deal with it,” Rey rolled over to look up at him as he sat on the bed next to her, just looking down with his hands raised, frozen there.

“Ah, you do, ah, know about cycles, right?” her face was a little pink, but she was more concerned that he understand her.

“Yes, I know about the human female menstruation cycles. I just assumed you already had a chip since you’ve been here long enough to have a cycle or three,” he lowered his hands as she just looked at him with a mix of guilt and understanding.

“We, the doctor and I talked about that too. She believes that my extremely off cycles were due to the level of malnutrition and living conditions on Jakku. I’ve been eating and sleeping regularly since coming onboard and, well, other things, so my body is starting to regulate itself as well,” she had gotten quieter while talking and a small blush crept up when she mentioned “other things” which he could only assume meant their sexually activity. Which means she’d discussed, at the least, some of it with the doctor.

“I was concerned about getting or possibly being pregnant,” she said even more softly, looking down and away from him.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and wrecked his hand through his hair, “Rey, you could have just asked me, I’m not due to get the chip replaced for another five years or so,” he said reaching out to hold her hand.

“Oh, well I guess we’re good then,” she looked down at their hands. “I wasn’t sure if maybe you were wanting me to get pregnant, since we never talk about it.”

He just stared at her then, not sure what to say about that. Forcing a pregnancy on someone, he really didn’t know how to feel about that idea. It repulsed him to the core, yet the idea of Rey and him having a child together, that idea wasn’t as repulsive and he really wasn’t sure why.

“I assume your chip will be part of your follow-up tomorrow? The doctor should have it calibrated to your bio specs by then,” he tried to smooth over this odd and awkward conversation. How long had she been wanting to bring this up and never felt comfortable saying something? He didn’t know and that bothered him. She should feel like she can talk to him.

He sighed.

It seemed he was still trying to gain her trust in some ways, but at least she was starting to tell him things that were on her mind. He ran his hands up and down her arms before leaning down to kiss her forehead. He also slipped her holo away from her while she had her eyes closed.

“Hey! I was going to read!” she looked up at him while he sat back to look at her.

“No, you’re going to go to sleep. Either you do it on your own or I can help you some,” he raised his eyebrow and watched her bite her lower lip in thought.

“Fine, help me out, or I’ll never get to sleep,” she said with an exasperated sigh, but she settled down back against the pillows and tried to get comfortable on one side of the bed.

“Relax, I’ll be coming to bed in a little while, so just stretch out and relax for a change,” he said softly, letting himself drift into her mind slowly. She could feel him there, since she was looking for him, but his touch was delicate as he lulled her into an easy slumber. He watched her eyes drift shut and watched the tension leave her body. He did want to join her, but he wanted to see what Cashen would have to report. So he waited for a while, making sure she was fully unconscious before he got up and turned out the lights.

**Author's Note:**

> So I introduced a new Knight. Cashen is a combination of every old gruff mentor out there. Silent, grizzled and stern, he can kick anyone's ass and then explain just what you did wrong and show you what to do instead. So that's three knights down and three more to go.  
> I broke this installment up, and while I don't have the other half typed out, I do have it written out, I just need some time to sit down and get it typed out.


End file.
